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70-547: Keitele is a municipality of Finland . It is part of the Northern Savonia region . The municipality has a population of 2,004 (31 October 2024) and covers an area of 578.30 square kilometres (223.28 sq mi) of which 96.59 km (37.29 sq mi) is water. The population density is 4.15 inhabitants per square kilometre (10.7/sq mi). Neighbour municipalities are Pielavesi , Pihtipudas , Tervo , Vesanto and Viitasaari . Despite its name,

140-531: A change in law, Tampere was first city to elect a mayor ( pormestari / borgmästare ) in 2007. The mayor is not, however, currently elected directly, but by the municipal council. The mayor acts as municipal manager and as a speaker of municipal council. Although municipalities do not have police or legislative powers, local ordinances concerning traffic can be set, and municipal parking inspectors can give parking tickets. Municipalities are legal persons and can appear in an administrative court . Likewise,

210-554: A check for $ 4,000. The NIT is intended to replace not just the USA 's income tax, but also many benefits low income American households receive, such as food stamps and Medicaid . The NIT is designed to avoid the welfare trap —effective high marginal tax rates arising from the rules reducing benefits as market income rises. An objection to the NIT is that it is welfare without a work requirement. Those who would owe negative tax would be receiving

280-487: A flat sales tax to target all consumption, which can be modified with rebates or exemptions to remove regressive effects, such as the proposed FairTax in the United States. A flat tax system and income taxes overall are not inherently border-adjustable; meaning the tax component embedded into products via taxes imposed on companies (including corporate taxes and payroll taxes ) are not removed when exported to

350-451: A flat rate. It includes independent countries and other autonomous jurisdictions. The tax rate listed is the one that applies to income from work, but does not include mandatory contributions to social security . In some jurisdictions, different rates (also flat) apply to other types of income, such as from investments. The table below lists jurisdictions where personal income is taxed by multiple government levels, and at least one level uses

420-421: A flat rate. The tax rates listed are those that apply to income from work, except as otherwise noted. Where a range of rates is listed, it means that the flat rate varies by location, not progressive rates. Despite not having a permanent population, some jurisdictions tax the local income of temporary workers, using a flat rate. The combined county and municipal tax rate ranges from 28.98 to 35.3%. In Gotland ,

490-554: A flat tax system could be combined with tariffs and credits to act as border adjustments (the proposed Border Tax Equity Act in the United States attempts this). Implementing an income tax with a border adjustment tax credit is a violation of the World Trade Organization agreement. Tax exemptions (allowances) on low income wages, a component of most income tax systems could mitigate this issue for high labour content industries like textiles that compete Globally. In

560-431: A flat tax, there are fewer incentives than in the current system to create tax shelters, and to engage in other forms of tax avoidance. Flat tax critics contend that a flat tax system could be created with many loopholes, or a progressive tax system without loopholes, and that a progressive tax system could be as simple, or simpler, than a flat tax system. A simple progressive tax would also discourage tax avoidance. Under

630-426: A foreign country (see Effect of taxes and subsidies on price ) . Taxation systems such as a sales tax or value added tax can remove the tax component when goods are exported and apply the tax component on imports. The domestic products could be at a disadvantage to foreign products (at home and abroad) that are border-adjustable, which would affect the global competitiveness of a country. However, it's possible that

700-544: A form of welfare without having to make an effort to obtain employment. Another objection is that the NIT subsidizes industries employing low-cost labor, but this objection can also be made against current systems of benefits for the working poor . A capped flat tax is one in which income is taxed at a flat rate until a specified cap amount is reached. For example, the United States Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax

770-458: A huge growth of revenue from corporate income tax (by 39% compared with the previous year) and surpassed the Ministry of Finance's own forecast (27% year on year). The budget surplus rose despite considerable emergency spending at the end of the year. There were several reasons for this beneficial effect: (i) the tax rate limited the incentives for tax evasion, (ii) the optimism at the beginning of

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840-594: A municipality. This was finished by the Marin cabinet . Flat tax A flat tax (short for flat-rate tax ) is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax base. It is not necessarily a fully proportional tax . Implementations are often progressive due to exemptions, or regressive in case of a maximum taxable amount. There are various tax systems that are labeled "flat tax" even though they are significantly different. The defining characteristic

910-548: A new (and Finnish-speaking) suburb with multiple times the inhabitants than there are in Sipoo. There is currently a heated political debate in Finland about reforming the municipality system. Essentially, a multitude of small municipalities is seen as detrimental to the provision of public services, having originated during Finland's agrarian years. As a result, there have been suggestions of state-imposed mergers. A committee led by

980-415: A place of business in the municipality (3.8% of income). Some municipal functions receive direct funding both from the municipality and the state, e.g. AMK vocational colleges. Finland has an extensive welfare state , and municipalities are responsible for much of the services to that end. Tasks of the municipalities are as follows: Although municipalities are responsible for their own finances, there

1050-418: A property tax, amounting to 3.6% of income, which is comparatively low: the annual fee is 0.32-0.75% of net present value for permanent residences and 0.50-1.00% for leisure properties like summer cottages as well as undeveloped plots. This is always paid by the owner, never a tenant directly, unlike the council tax . Municipalities receive a share of corporate tax revenue ( yhteisövero ) from companies having

1120-406: A pure flat tax without deductions, every tax period a company would make a single payment to the government covering the taxes on the employees and the taxes on the company profit. For example, suppose that in a given year, a company called ACME earns a profit of 3 million, spends 2 million in wages, and spends 1 million on other expenses that under the tax law is taxable income to recipients, such as

1190-462: A state agency, and used primarily for traffic-related purposes (signage, speed limits, and highway planning). There are 745 officially recognized urban areas in Finland, 49 of which have more than 10,000 inhabitants and six more than 100,000. Each municipality has a distinct coat of arms . They are posted on the municipal borders and shown in official documents representing the municipality. The coats of arms for many municipalities have been designed in

1260-531: A subsequent section, various proposals for flat tax-like schemes are discussed, these differ mainly on how they approach with the following issues of deductions, defining income, and policy implementation. Most countries tax personal income at the national level using progressive rates, but some use a flat rate. Most countries that have or had a flat tax on personal income at the national level are former communist countries or islands . In some countries, subdivisions are allowed to tax personal income in addition to

1330-488: A target of population 20,000 per municipality. Commuter belts have also been proposed as a target by a government committee, such that municipalities where more than 35% of workforce commutes would be subject to a merger. The Sipilä cabinet , from 2015, had been preparing a significant reform of health and social services ( sote-uudistus ), aimed at increasing choice between municipal and private healthcare, and assigning some healthcare responsibilities into larger units than

1400-402: A year would owe tax amounting to 0.20 × (74,000 − 54,000) = $ 4,000, as would be the case under a flat tax system with deductions. Families of four earning less than $ 54,000 per year, however, would experience a "negative" amount of tax (that is, the family would receive money from the government instead of paying to the government). For example, if the family earned $ 34,000 a year, it would receive

1470-481: Is not directed at specifying graduated tax rates). As it now stands, the U.S. Internal Revenue Code is over several million words long, and contains many loopholes, deductions, and exemptions which, advocates of flat taxes claim, render the collection of taxes and the enforcement of tax law complicated and inefficient. It is further argued that current tax law slows economic growth by distorting economic incentives, and by allowing, even encouraging, tax avoidance. With

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1540-403: Is 6.2% of gross compensation up to a limit (in 2022, up to $ 147,000 of earnings, for a maximum tax of $ 9,114). This cap has the effect of turning a nominally flat tax into a regressive tax . In devising a flat tax system, several recurring issues must be enumerated, principally with deductions and the identification of when money is earned. Since a central tenet of the flat tax is to minimize

1610-486: Is a return to capital (dividends, interest, royalties, profits of unincorporated businesses) is positively correlated with total household income. Hence a flat tax limited to wages would seem to leave the wealthy better off. Modifying the tax base can change the effects. A flat tax could be targeted at income (rather than wages), which could place the tax burden equally on all earners, including those who earn income primarily from returns on investment. Tax systems could utilize

1680-669: Is a single, large, fixed deduction. This large fixed deduction would compensate for the elimination of various existing deductions and would simplify taxes, having the side-effect that many (mostly low income) households will not have to file tax returns. Designed by economists at the Hoover Institution , Hall–Rabushka is a flat tax on consumption . Principally, Hall–Rabushka accomplishes a consumption tax effect by taxing income and then excluding investment. Robert Hall and Alvin Rabushka have consulted extensively in designing

1750-444: Is a system of taxation where one tax rate is applied to all personal income with no deductions. Where deductions are allowed, a 'flat tax' is a progressive tax with the special characteristic that, above the maximum deduction, the marginal rate on all further income is constant. Such a tax is said to be marginally flat above that point. The difference between a true flat tax and a marginally flat tax can be reconciled by recognizing that

1820-442: Is actually a shorthand for the more proper marginally flat tax. One type of flat tax would be imposed on all income once: at the source of the income. Hall and Rabushka proposed an amendment to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code that would implement the variant of the flat tax they advocate. This amendment, only a few pages long, would replace hundreds of pages of statutory language (although most statutory language in taxation statutes

1890-429: Is collected only from medium to high income earners. However, in practice even the municipal tax is progressive due to generous deductions granted to the lowest income levels. The pre-deduction base tax varies from 16% in affluent Kauniainen to 20% or more in a number of small rural municipalities. Next to the municipal tax, municipalities receive funding from the state budget ( valtionapu , 19% of income). This funding

1960-423: Is derived from the composition of the council, not along government-opposition lines. Furthermore, individual decisions are prepared in specialized municipal boards ( lautakunta ) for a council meeting, which include, for example, zoning, social assistance, and education boards. Council, executive board, and municipal board memberships are elected positions of responsibility, not full-time jobs. Remuneration depends on

2030-429: Is expected as the name of the municipality refers to the entire parish, not just a single center like a church village. Villages have no administrative role, although some have voluntary village associations ( kyläyhdistys ) and other non-governmental public life. Although related, urban areas in Finland ( taajama ) are not local administrative units. A catalog is independently compiled each year by Statistics Finland ,

2100-542: Is legally autonomous and answers only to the voters. The size of the council is proportional to the population, the extremes being 9 in Sottunga and 85 in Helsinki . A subsection of the council, the municipal executive board ( kunnanhallitus ), controls the municipal government and monitors the implementation of decisions of the council. Its decisions must be approved by the council. Unlike national cabinets, its composition

2170-522: Is means-tested to municipality wealth and serves to balance the differences in municipal tax revenue. Besides taxes, sales revenue, fees and profit of operations also form a substantial share of municipal income (21%). In 2023, taxation will be significantly changed, when new wellbeing services counties are founded. Since these are funded by the state, municipal taxes will be reduced by 12.64 percentage points from ~20 to ~7%, and state taxes will be increased correspondingly. Additionally, municipalities levy

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2240-503: Is much highly specific legislation and regulation that requires the services to be provided up to a standard. Thus, although municipalities have the power to voluntarily spend tax-generated income, they are required to first allocate funds to legally prescribed services. Municipalities may provide some of these services through corporations that they own or from private companies that they regulate. For example, Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) provides public transport services in

2310-599: Is not fully defined until it differentiates new untaxed income from a pass-through of already taxed income. Taxes, in addition to providing revenue, can be potent instruments of policy. For example, it is common for governments to encourage social policy such as home insulation or low income housing with tax credits rather than constituting a ministry to implement these policies. In a flat tax system with limited deductions such policy administration, mechanisms are curtailed. In addition to social policy, flat taxes can remove tools for adjusting economic policy as well. For example, in

2380-432: Is that an expense (since the producer has to purchase jars somehow) or a sheltering of income through investment? Flat tax systems can differ greatly in how they accommodate such gray areas. For example, the "9-9-9" flat tax proposal would allow businesses to deduct purchases but not labor costs, which effectively taxes labor-intensive industrial revenue at a higher rate. How deductions are implemented will dramatically change

2450-423: Is the existence of only one tax rate other than zero, as opposed to multiple non-zero rates that vary depending on the amount subject to taxation. A flat tax system is usually discussed in the context of an income tax , where progressivity is common, but it may also apply to taxes on consumption , property or transfers . Flat tax proposals differ in how the subject of the tax is defined. A true flat-rate tax

2520-613: The Finnish Environment Institute classifies urban settlements with over 15,000 inhabitants as kaupunki , municipalities can name themselves kaupunki with fewer inhabitants. There are 44,991 inhabitants in Nurmijärvi , the largest kunta in Finland, and 1,246 inhabitants in Kaskinen , the smallest kaupunki , so the kunta–kaupunki categorisation mainly concerns the name of the municipality. The areas of

2590-643: The 18th century, King Gustaf III implemented the Great Partition, where common lands were redistributed into larger properties, and claimed all unclaimed land to the crown. Thus, there is no "leftover" land outside the jurisdiction of municipalities, as all land belongs to either to a private property or to the government. The secular government divided the properties to taxable units (villages and secular municipalities) according to its own convenience, which were not necessarily convergent with parishes. Furthermore, cities were chartered separately. Up to 1734,

2660-436: The United States, short-term capital gains are taxed at a higher rate than long-term gains as means to promote long-term investment horizons and damp speculative fluctuation. Thus, if one assumes that government should be active in policy decisions such as this, then claims that flat taxes are cheaper/simpler to administer than others are incomplete until they factor in costs for alternative policy administration. In general,

2730-577: The amount of the gain would be withheld and sent to the IRS. If there were a loss, the amount would be reported to the IRS. The loss would offset gains, and then the IRS would settle up with taxpayers at the end of the period. Lacking deductions, this scheme cannot be used to implement economic and social policy indirectly by tax credits and thus, as noted above, the simplifications to the government's revenue collection apparatus might be offset by new government ministries required to administer those policies. Russia

2800-460: The capital area. From 2023, new wellbeing services counties will take the responsibility for healthcare and social services from the municipalities. As of 2021 , there are 309 municipalities in Finland, and from 1 January 2025 308, of which (the following numbers not updated) 107 are cities or towns ( kaupunki ). Sixteen municipalities are unilingually Swedish (all in the autonomous Åland region), while 33 are bilingual: 15 with Swedish as

2870-532: The church village ( kirkonkylä , abbreviated kk ) is the historical center, the largest or administrative center may be in another village. For example, Askola has a church village (Askolan kirkonkylä), but its administrative center is in Monninkylä . Often, the church village has the same name as the municipality, as with Askola. However, this is not necessarily so, e.g. Enontekiö is governed from Hetta ; these villages are often erroneously labeled in maps. This

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2940-457: The compartmentalization of incomes into myriad special or sheltered cases, a vexing problem is deciding when income occurs. This is demonstrated by the taxation of interest income and stock dividends. The shareholders own the company and so the company's profits belong to them. If a company is taxed on its profits, then the funds paid out as dividends have already been taxed. It's a debatable question if they should subsequently be treated as income to

3010-430: The country's EU membership, (iii) and the increase in foreign direct investment, which reached an all-time annual record of €9 billion (about 11% of GDP). Taxes other than the income tax (for example, taxes on sales and payrolls) tend to be regressive. Under such a structure, those with lower incomes tend to pay a higher proportion of their income in total taxes than the affluent do. The fraction of household income that

3080-411: The deductions of different people). Furthermore, if income of differing types are segregated (e.g., pass-through, long term cap gains, regular income, etc.) then complications ensue. For example, if realized capital gains were subject to the flat tax, the law would require brokers and mutual funds to calculate the realized capital gain on all sales and redemption. If there were a gain, a tax equal to 15% of

3150-417: The earnings. For example, grocery stores typically earn pennies on every dollar of revenue; they could not pay a tax rate of 25% on revenues unless their markup exceeded 25%. Thus, corporations must be able to deduct operating expenses even if individuals cannot. A practical dilemma arises as to identifying what is an expense for a business. For example, if a peanut butter producer purchases a jar manufacturer,

3220-474: The economy, transport and environment, while law and environmental enforcement is handled by the local aluehallintovirasto , governing multi-region jurisdictions termed alue .-G.H- Residents pay a municipal tax that is a form of income tax , which is the mainstay of the income of a municipality (42% of income). Municipal tax is nominally a flat tax that is levied from a broader population (including lower income levels) than progressive state income tax, which

3290-412: The effective total tax, and thus the flatness of the tax. Thus, a flat tax proposal is not fully defined unless the proposal includes a differentiation between deductible and non-deductible expenses. Flat tax benefits higher income brackets progressively due to decline in marginal value . If a flat tax system has a large exemption, it is effectively a progressive tax . As a result, the term "flat tax"

3360-464: The flat tax systems in Eastern Europe. The negative income tax (NIT), which Milton Friedman proposed in his 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom , is a type of flat tax. The basic idea is the same as a flat tax with personal deductions, except that when deductions exceed income, the taxable income is allowed to become negative rather than being set to zero. The flat tax rate is then applied to

3430-1189: The former Minister for Regional and Municipal Affairs, Hannes Manninen , suggested creating a two-tier system of municipalities with different powers, while the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities ( Kuntaliitto ) favoured a system where municipalities would be units of at least 20,000–30,000 inhabitants, cf. the current median at 4,700. The motion was inspired by a similar reform in Denmark (see Municipalities of Denmark ). The former government ( Vanhanen II ), however, planned to not impose mergers. Recently, many voluntary mergers have been agreed on. Ten mergers were completed in 2005, one in 2006, 14 in 2007 and one in 2008. In 2009, there were even more, many of which consolidated more than two municipalities. Several cities merged with surrounding rural municipalities in Hämeenlinna , Salo , Kouvola , Seinäjoki , Naantali , Kauhava , Lohja , Raseborg , Jyväskylä and Oulu in 2009. In total, there were 32 mergers, involving 99 municipalities, that reduced

3500-492: The introduction of a 10% corporate income tax rate for 2007, to be followed by a 10% personal income tax rate the next year. The IMF was wary of this reform, arguing that the simplified tax system would lower the budget surplus and encourage a larger current account deficit. At the time of these discussions, however, the Bulgarian government did not need external financing and proceeded with its reform plans. The year 2007 brought

3570-503: The latter simply excludes certain types of income from being defined as taxable income; hence, both kinds of tax are flat on taxable income. Modified flat taxes have been proposed which would allow deductions for a very few items, while still eliminating the vast majority of existing deductions. Charitable deductions and home mortgage interest are the most discussed examples of deductions that would be retained, as these deductions are popular with voters and are often used. Another common theme

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3640-577: The law was different in cities than in rural municipalities. On 6 February 1865, the modern municipalities were established as secular entities separate from the parishes. The reform was inspired by the Swedish municipal reforms of 1862 . Up to 1964, cities financed their own police and registry services. Until 1977 municipalities were divided into cities ( kaupunki , stad ), market towns ( kauppala , köping ) and rural municipalities ( maalaiskunta , landskommun ). The market town category

3710-574: The majority language (all but four in Ostrobothnia ) and 18 with Finnish as the majority language (all but five in Uusimaa region). Four municipalities in northern Lapland ( Utsjoki , Inari , Sodankylä and Enontekiö ) have one or all of the three Sami languages spoken in Finland as an official language. Finnish municipalities can choose to be called either kaupunki ( city or town ) or kunta (small town or rural municipality). Although

3780-432: The modern era, many of them by Gustaf von Numers . In addition, municipalities like Vantaa since 2015 and Helsinki since 2017 have a logo distinct from their coat of arms. Distinctively, the Helsinki capital region , has no special arrangements. The area consists of four entirely independent cities that form a continuous conurbation . The Helsinki metropolitan area has grown in population and area relatively quickly:

3850-478: The municipalities vary, as the population is the primary criterion for forming a municipality. The largest municipalities in size are found in Lapland, of which the largest is Inari at 17,333.65 km (6,692.56 sq mi) (130 km square). The smallest municipalities are very small towns. Kaskinen is an independent town with a land area of only 10.49 km (4.05 sq mi). Kauniainen , which

3920-508: The municipality and position, but is generally nominal or modest: a regular council member is paid 70 euro on average on a per-meeting basis (2017). Municipal managers ( kaupunginjohtaja , stadsdirektör for cities, kunnanjohtaja , kommunsdirektör for other municipalities) are civil servants named by the council. The city manager of Helsinki is called ylipormestari / överborgmästare "Lord Mayor" for historical reasons. There were previously no mayors in Finland, but after

3990-540: The municipality is not located by the lake Keitele . The shortest distance between the municipality and the lake is roughly ten kilometers. The municipality is unilingually Finnish . [REDACTED] Media related to Keitele at Wikimedia Commons This Eastern Finland location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Municipalities of Finland Municipalities have council-manager government : they are governed by an elected council ( kunnanvaltuusto , kommunfullmäktige ), which

4060-464: The national government. Many of these subdivisions use a flat rate, even if their national government uses progressive rates. Examples are all counties and municipalities of the Nordic countries , all prefectures and municipalities of Japan , and some subdivisions of Italy and of the United States . The table below lists jurisdictions where personal income is taxed by only one government level, using

4130-456: The nearby municipalities, considered rural only 50 years ago, have become suburbs , and the growth is projected to continue. A state-imposed merger of Helsinki and a part of Sipoo , a rural, 40% Swedish-speaking municipality adjacent to the Helsinki metropolitan area, was approved by the government in 2006, counter to the opinion of the Sipoo municipal council. This area will effectively become

4200-556: The number of municipalities by 67. The year 2009 also marked the end of the last maalaiskunta , a municipality surrounding a city but sharing the name, in Jyväskylä . There were four mergers in 2010, six in 2011, ten in 2013, three in 2015, four in 2016, two in 2017, one in 2020 and one in 2021. In the period 2005–2021, the number of municipalities was voluntarily reduced from 444 to 309. In 2012, Katainen's government published an extensive plan aiming at merging municipalities to reach

4270-408: The question of how to eliminate deductions is fundamental to the flat tax design; deductions dramatically affect the effective "flatness" in the tax rate. Perhaps the single biggest necessary deduction is for business expenses. If businesses were not allowed to deduct expenses, businesses with a profit margin below the flat tax rate could never earn any money since the tax on revenues would always exceed

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4340-489: The receipt of stock options, bonuses, and certain executive privileges. Given a flat rate of 15%, ACME would then owe the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (3M + 2M + 1M) × 0.15 = 900,000. This payment would, in one fell swoop, settle the tax liabilities of ACME's employees as well as the corporate taxes owed by ACME. Most employees throughout the economy would never need to interact with the IRS, as all tax owed on wages, interest, dividends, royalties, etc. would be withheld at

4410-418: The resulting "negative income," resulting in a "negative income tax" that the government would owe to the household—unlike the usual "positive" income tax, which the household owes the government. For example, let the flat rate be 20%, and let the deductions be $ 20,000 per adult and $ 7,000 per dependent. Under such a system, a family of four making $ 54,000 a year would owe no tax. A family of four making $ 74,000

4480-408: The shareholders and thus subject to further tax. A similar issue arises in deciding if interest paid on loans should be deductible from the taxable income since that interest is in-turn taxed as income to the loan provider. There is no universally agreed answer to what is fair. For example, in the United States, dividends are not deductible but mortgage interest is deductible. Thus a Flat Tax proposal

4550-441: The source. The main exceptions would be employees with incomes from personal ventures. The Economist claims that such a system would reduce the number of entities required to file returns from about 130 million individuals, households, and businesses, as at present, to a mere 8 million businesses and self-employed. However, this simplicity depends on the absence of deductions of any kind being allowed (or at least no variability in

4620-420: The state of Finland is a separate legal person. Excluding judicial review of formal compliance to administrative law, municipalities are independent and not a part of a local state hierarchy. Municipalities cooperate in regions of Finland . State agencies have jurisdictions spanning one or more regions: each region is served by an ely-keskus ( elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus ) on matters of employment,

4690-496: Was abolished and these were renamed as cities. The rest of the municipalities were classified as 'other municipalities'. All municipalities called maalaiskunta were eventually either merged to their parent cities or changed their names. From 1995 onwards only 'municipality' is recognized by law and any municipality is allowed to call itself a city. Not all municipalities have an obvious urban center; indeed, rural municipalities are often composed of distributed rural villages. Although

4760-432: Was considered a prime case of the success of a flat tax; the real revenues from its personal income tax rose by 25.2% in the first year after the country introduced a flat tax in 2001, followed by a 24.6% increase in the second year, and a 15.2% increase in the third year. The Russian example is often used as proof of the validity of this analysis, despite an International Monetary Fund study in 2006 which found that there

4830-540: Was no sign "of Laffer -type behavioral responses generating revenue increases from the tax cut elements of these reforms" in Russia or in other countries. In 2021, Russia ended its flat tax on personal income as it introduced a second higher tax rate. Bulgaria's entry into the EU in 2007 was marked by a spur of reforms aimed at reducing the large share of informal economic activity, estimated at 43% in 2006. Parliament approved

4900-681: Was originally a corporation in Espoo , is only 6.00 km (2.32 sq mi). Municipalities were originally parishes . The old word for a municipality is pitäjä , 'keeper', because when the system was instituted, one municipality kept one minister. Municipalities were divided into villages, which consisted of individual properties. Borders between properties and thus municipalities were defined by oral agreements passed down from generation to generation; usually along straight lines between defined markers such as boulders. Medieval documentation survives only from legal disputes concerning borders. In

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